Chapter 10

After discovering the village, Xiao Ming cautiously approached it with his men behind him.

The fence around the village had been burned down, but the buildings inside had not. When Xiao Ming reached the entrance, he looked at the scene before him. At some point, waves of screams had begun echoing in his ears, while blasts of searing heat washed over his face.

"What is going on?" Xiao Ming frowned deeply, his eyes full of confusion.

Just then, several filthy children suddenly jumped out from behind the fence. They looked only five or six years old, their faces grimy, their clothes covered in patches, and wooden sticks clutched in their hands.

"Who are you? Why did you come to our home?" A girl in a black gown stood at the fence gate, one hand covering her chest to keep the children from getting any closer.

Seeing this, the men who had been following Xiao Ming immediately raised their machetes and stood between Xiao Ming and the children.

At the sight, the children were terrified out of their wits. They shook their heads frantically. "We're not bad people! Please, spare us!" As they spoke, beads of sweat rolled down and dripped onto Xiao Ming's boots, soaking them.

Xiao Ming looked down at the children and could not help letting out a bitter smile.

He then reached out and patted one of his men on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

Then, under the children's terrified gazes, Xiao Ming slowly walked up to them and squatted down.

"Tell your big brother what exactly happened here."

Squatting before them, Xiao Ming looked at the children and asked in an even tone.

Hearing Xiao Ming's words, the children raised their heads and looked toward the fence, where nothing could be made out anymore.

At that moment, a thin, frail boy said timidly, "We don't know. We've never been here before!"

Hearing the boy's words, Xiao Ming nodded. He then turned to another child and asked, "What about you? How did you end up here?"

"We were trafficked here by human smugglers," another boy answered timidly.

Xiao Ming frowned. "Trafficked by human smugglers? Then did you see anyone else? Or did you see your parents?"

"W-we didn't see anything!" The children all shook their heads.

Seeing this, Xiao Ming found it rather strange. Judging by their expressions, they did not seem to be lying.

He asked a few more questions, but the answers he got were vastly different from what he had expected.

"If that's the case, then come back to the stronghold with me for now."

Xiao Ming glanced at the children before saying this.

"Ah, okay!" The children nodded, then followed Xiao Ming back to the stronghold.

Meanwhile, Seven Baleful Intents and the others, who had been waiting outside for a long time, hurried over when they saw Xiao Ming.

"Stronghold Chief, you've finally returned. We were worried sick!" Seven Baleful Intents and the others said anxiously as they looked at Xiao Ming.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Xiao Ming glanced at them, then led the children behind him toward the bandits they had captured earlier.

Only then did Seven Baleful Intents notice the children following Xiao Ming. He immediately pulled over one of the men who had been following Xiao Ming.

The man then carefully recounted everything that had happened.

After listening, Seven Baleful Intents' expression became extremely grave. He asked Xiao Ming, "Stronghold Chief, how should these children be dealt with?"

"Them? Bring them back to the stronghold for now. We'll decide later." After some thought, Xiao Ming decided to keep the children temporarily. After all, they still did not know why the children had appeared here. Perhaps they were merely children from ordinary families, kidnapped and brought here because their parents had been careless.

"Yes!" Seven Baleful Intents answered.

After settling everything, Xiao Ming reorganized the remaining troops and headed toward the last mountain stronghold.

"Seven Baleful Intents, didn't you say there were at most fifty bandits? Why are there more than eighty now?" Xiao Ming turned and asked in confusion.

"Reporting to the Stronghold Chief, because of our recent actions, many mountain bandits have indeed gathered nearby. This subordinate suspects that these people came from other places," Seven Baleful Intents explained.

"Oh? Is that so?" Xiao Ming raised an eyebrow. "Looks like those people aren't stupid enough to just sit around and die."

As he spoke, silver light flickered between Xiao Ming's hands.

When Gungnir appeared in Xiao Ming's grasp, the battle qi throughout the area became unusually active.

Seeing this, Seven Baleful Intents and the others immediately ordered everyone to prepare to charge at any moment.

"Kill!"

With Xiao Ming's furious roar, the group of more than five hundred charged straight into the crowd and engaged the eighty-some bandits in a fierce battle.

The battle was exceptionally intense. The moment both sides clashed, a violent collision erupted.

Although they held an overwhelming advantage in numbers, Xiao Ming did not underestimate the group before him.

There were quite a few Battle Master-level experts among them. Xiao Ming's group had encountered such situations twice before, and on those occasions, Xiao Ming had relied on his overwhelming strength to defeat the bandits.

Bang.

"Aah!"

Splurt.

"Aah!"

As waves of intense pain struck them, the bandits were all sent flying.

Xiao Ming immediately pressed the advantage and directly dealt with the remaining twenty-three bandits.

After eliminating everyone, Xiao Ming and the others returned to the stronghold to rest and recover.

This campaign to wipe out the bandits had consumed a great deal of everyone's strength, and their bodies were all covered in blood—blood belonging to the bandits.

After returning to the stronghold, Xiao Ming immediately went back to his room and began washing the blood from his body.

He then had someone bring him a clean set of clothes and changed into them.

After Xiao Ming changed and walked out of the room, he saw Seven Baleful Intents standing in the middle of the courtyard.

When Seven Baleful Intents saw Xiao Ming come out, he respectfully bowed to him.

"Forget these tedious formalities from now on." Xiao Ming waved his hand, then asked, "How have those children been arranged?"

"Stronghold Chief, those children have all been settled according to your instructions. They are resting in their rooms now," Seven Baleful Intents replied.

"Mm, I understand. Go take care of your business."

At this, Seven Baleful Intents nodded and turned to leave.

After Seven Baleful Intents left, a rough outline of Xiao Ming's next plan had already formed in his mind.